Investigation of Modality-Specific Distractibility in Children

Abstract

Seventy-three nonreferred children were administered a battery of cognitive, academic and behavioral measures along with distinct tests of aural and visual distractibility. The data suggest that distractibility is modality specific. Completely distinct groups of visually- and aurally-distractible children were found. In addition, visual distractibility was associated with both a continuous performance test (CPT) measure of inattention and teacher ratings of behavior, but not with cognitive nor academic achievement measures. In contrast, aural distractibility was associated with cognitive functioning and reading scores, but not with the CPT inattention measure nor teacher behavior ratings.

Developmental change in the cross-modal Stroop effect

“…Selective attention is the ability to focus on one particular aspect of a stimulus while defocusing other aspects of the same stimulus (Bedi, Halperin, & Sharma, 1994). In the Stroop task, participants are asked to name the print color of a color word (e.g., say "red" when shown the word blue printed in red).…”

Serotonin 2A Receptor Gene Polymorphism in Korean Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

“…For example, Cooley and Morris31 claimed that attention is specific to each sensory system, i.e., the visual, auditory, and verbal systems. Bedi et al32 noted that among normal children, those children who display 'visual distractibility' have a significant correlation between visual distractibility and the inattentiveness reported by teachers; however, those children who display auditory distractibility have significant correlations between auditory distractibility and academic achievement. Moreover, there have been a number of reports that some ADHD children are classified as having the 'central auditory processing disorder' 33,34.…”

Factors Influencing Tests of Auditory Processing: A Perspective on Current Issues and Relevant Concerns

“…In fact, modality specificity is both necessary and sufficient to make the diagnosis of APD. The importance of this requisite relates to the fact that disorders of attention, language, or reading (i.e., those entities that are visual in nature) can present as modality specific, supramodal, or polysensory dysfunctions (see Bedi et al, 1994;Cacace et al, 2000;Dawes et al, 2009;Dawes and Bishop, 2010;Marinelli et al, 2011 as relevant examples). To underscore this point, we use attentional processes as an example and use continuous performance tests (CPTs) as an outcome measure.…”